Some of you have noticed that I've started running ads in the right-hand column. I'm hoping that you all will click through and support the companies and people who advertise here so I can write better, more coherent responses to your questions. Right now I end up doing a lot of posts at midnight, but ads = babysitting hours = writing advice while still awake = my posts make more sense.

Take a look at the HarperCollinsChildrens.com Summer Reading Contest website. You can enter to win 5 free books from the lists they have, and also find out more about each book on their lists (and all the books HarperCollins publishes). If I were eligible to enter the contest, I'd want to win the Doreen Cronin (Click Clack Moo!) book Diary of a Worm.

Who can resist a dog hanging out of a car window? Budget Car Rental is running the funny "Up Your Budget Treasure Hunt 2006" contest. Every day they give clues on the site (three times a day), and you have to figure out where they're going on their road trip and how many miles they're driving. There's a new road trip each week, and the winner of each trip gets $25K. That's a lot of money for clicking through and figuring out the clues. (And it's better than the stupid Lost interactive puzzles that you can never get to load.)

The Fine PrintMy expertise is in helping people be who they want to be, with a specialty in how being a parent fits into everything else. I like people. I like parents. I think you're doing a fantastic job. The nitty-gritty of what you do with your kids is up to you, although I'm happy to post questions here to get data points of how you could try approaching different stages, because, let's face it, this shit is hard. As for me, I have two kids who sleep through the night and can tie their own shoes. I've been a married SAHM, a married freelance WAHM, a divorcing WOHM, a divorced WOHM, and now a WAHM again. I'm not buying the Mommy Wars and I'll come sit next to you no matter how you're feeding your kid. When in doubt, follow the money trail. And don't believe the hype.